Welfare of Workers

1.1 Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana

More than 3.44 crore families are being provided health insurance cover under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and 51.68 lakh persons have availed hospitalization benefit under the scheme. The scheme has been extended to cover construction workers, street vendors, domestic workers, beedi workers, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act workers (who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year) and licensed railway porter and vendors. It is proposed to further extend this Scheme to other categories of unorganized workers such as rickshaw pullers, auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers, sanitation workers, rag pickers and mine workers.

1.2 Welfare of workers in the organized sector

Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation has taken up new initiatives to improve the quality of service delivery. These include coverage of new geographical areas, implementation of an IT rollout plan and medical education projects.

Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)

As part of the effort towards the automation of work processes to achieve efficiency and improve service delivery, all offices of EPFO have been computerized, with facility for electronic submission of statutory EPF returns with effect from 2012-13.
The members can now get their PF balances, track claims, payment status online as well as receive SMS s on their mobile phones after registering on Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)

1.3 With a view to creating a world-class skilled labour force, training courses are being offered through a network of 2271 government and 8073 private Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs). These institutes cumulatively offer 14.66 lakh training seats. Under the schemes of modernization of ITIs, a total of 1727 Government ITIs are being modernized / upgraded including 400 ITIs with World Bank assistance.
1.4 Bills to amend Child Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1986, Building and other Construction Workers (Regulations of employment and conditions of service) Act, 1996 and The Building and other Construction Workers Cess Act, 1996 have been introduced in the Parliament. Proposal for amendment in the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 has been approved by the government on 21.02.2013. The amendment in the Act would, inter alia, provide statutory status to the National Floor Level Minimum Wage (NFLMW), will make the Act applicable to all employments, provide for the revision of NFLMW every five year on the basis of NSSO Consumer Expenditure Survey, link NFLMW with variable dearness allowance (VDA) to be notified at least once in a year on the basis of Consumer Price Index and provide for issue of employment cards to the employees which would be Aadhaar compliant, etc.
PM INDIA